Burson Soloist 3X Grand Tourer Head Amp/Pre Amp w/Sub out - 10W XLR
Nov 24, 2021 at 10:58 AM Post #271 of 2,231
I expected this to be the case, but the Arya had a major improvement to me. I also tested the He6se and did not find much improvement, but I never liked the He6se so my opinion may be colored. If anything, the He6se on the GT made it more apparent to me how much better the Susvara is than it. I felt the sound stage was a clear improvement on the Susvara and Arya with the GT, but little to no improvement on the He6se. Will be curious what others think on the He6 models.
On both 1266 and Odins the sound stage is improved a lot over the 3xp. It's a completely different class of sound, even though the sound "signature" is very similar.
I guess it's the dual mono design + vivids sharp presentation doing the magic.
 
Nov 24, 2021 at 12:11 PM Post #272 of 2,231
The multiple inputs are awesome. With my TT2 I can use XLR balanced interconnects to the GT directly, and a 2nd connection from TT2 RCA connection into a tube preamp into GT. Easy switching (i hope) from solid state to tube mode. I hope the GT wcan benefit from a good tube preamplifier in the chain too.
 
Nov 24, 2021 at 1:47 PM Post #273 of 2,231
The review from Passion of Sound is pretty spot on.


"Perhaps the most impressive elements to me are the fact that it produces an excellent sense of space in the sound stage" and compared to the 3xp as "more textured and detailed". It does do everything better than the 3xp.

The improvements in sound stage are definitely the most impressive. It surprised me how much better it was, as I honestly just expected a decent overall improvement compared to the 3xp with the power to support a Susvara, but not such a large improvement in the sound stage. It is wider, more open and spacious. And I find the difference to be significant. It is what creates the wow factor of this amp.
 
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Nov 24, 2021 at 2:18 PM Post #274 of 2,231
Was emailed that my yamaha subwoofer arrived today (mainly got it as a foot rest, dont judge, and to help with the low end on the hs5's I use). Excited to see how hp/sub mode feels.

Also all of you with Susvaras are making me want to save up for that instead of a DCA Stealth(want great closed backs for the summer when I need to run the AC).

Those of you with loud fans, I would hit up Burson and see if theyre willing to send you a replacement. I'm highly suspicious now that theres something wrong with the fan or how it was installed for it to be loud enough to cause frustration. I run a watercooled PC too and I hear the pumps(running 2 in case one fails) at low RPM more than the GT. I really dont think they would have went the active cooling route if they couldnt get the fan to be near inaudible.
 
Nov 24, 2021 at 2:22 PM Post #275 of 2,231
Was emailed that my yamaha subwoofer arrived today (mainly got it as a foot rest, dont judge, and to help with the low end on the hs5's I use). Excited to see how hp/sub mode feels.

Also all of you with Susvaras are making me want to save up for that instead of a DCA Stealth(want great closed backs for the summer when I need to run the AC).

Those of you with loud fans, I would hit up Burson and see if theyre willing to send you a replacement. I'm highly suspicious now that theres something wrong with the fan or how it was installed for it to be loud enough to cause frustration. I run a watercooled PC too and I hear the pumps(running 2 in case one fails) at low RPM more than the GT. I really dont think they would have went the active cooling route if they couldnt get the fan to be near inaudible.
Yeah its really interesting ... wrote an email, could you measure it with a db meter app on your phone? Next to the fan and 50 cm from it? People say it should be 25db but that's not what im getting
 
Nov 24, 2021 at 2:30 PM Post #276 of 2,231
Was emailed that my yamaha subwoofer arrived today (mainly got it as a foot rest, dont judge, and to help with the low end on the hs5's I use). Excited to see how hp/sub mode feels.

Also all of you with Susvaras are making me want to save up for that instead of a DCA Stealth(want great closed backs for the summer when I need to run the AC).

Those of you with loud fans, I would hit up Burson and see if theyre willing to send you a replacement. I'm highly suspicious now that theres something wrong with the fan or how it was installed for it to be loud enough to cause frustration. I run a watercooled PC too and I hear the pumps(running 2 in case one fails) at low RPM more than the GT. I really dont think they would have went the active cooling route if they couldnt get the fan to be near inaudible.
That's my ambient noise level and fan on, probably 10 cm from the fan itself.

Would be interested to see how others perform.
 

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Nov 24, 2021 at 2:42 PM Post #278 of 2,231
What app do you use? I'll look into doing it at night when theres less traffic around me with just the amp on. Think using the same app as you could be the best way to compare.
I'm using Sound Meter on android, it was the first free recommended meter I found🤷
 
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Nov 24, 2021 at 4:01 PM Post #279 of 2,231
I listened to the Arya on high gain and had zero issues with volume control. Will test later tonight on low and medium, but it sounded so good on high that I did not even bother.

The volume inconsistency you are referring to is purposely done at low gain. You should watch the Passion for Sound review as he details it. I find your opinions to be very negative with no appreciation of what the GT does well. What I would agree with is the volume knob is still mediocre, with a slight improvement over the 3xp.

*Another positive is there is no longer any "popping" sound when turning on the amp with headphones connected, or switching in between headphones. I actually found that annoying on the 3xp, it always creeped me out. No issue at all now.
I think the GT does sound good but the problem is that other products exist in the world and sure if you have no experience with other high-end amps then yeah this is amazing but compared to my personal daily driver the HPA4 the sound quality is just not up to that level but more importantly the user experience with the HPA4 is leagues better than 99% of amps on the market today. I am just comparing to my experience. My daily headphones are the Hifiman 1000SE so in my personal use case I find issues.

You mention ur Arya on high gain. Yes the headphones sound great at high gain but you have hardly any play with the volume at low levels. Even at "1" volume the amp is still providing decent volume. On my HPA4 it pretty much has the same 100 step volume except the way the volume control is designed is you have sooo much control on exactly how much volume you want. Its just plain better. Again I am just comparing to my own experience. I look for products that just pretty much nail the basics and everything is well thought out. The thing is Burson could do better but at $2500 I already expect them to have basic stuff like this figured out because there are other products that have it figured out. The fact they aren't using a stepped actuator for the volume control is monkey level of decision making IMO. Hell if you only have $2000, the Headamp GS Mini with the stepped actuator for volume control is probably the best value in Hifi under $2k. I am extremely critical of products that sell for this kind of money because for most people its a lot and you better have everything damn near perfect. I FEEL none of us should have to sit here and debate what you don't like about the product's design because again, at this price, it should be a none issue because other products on the market exist that do it perfectly. I know this is probably a unpopular opinion on this forum but I wanted to just share my opinion <3
 
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Nov 24, 2021 at 4:47 PM Post #280 of 2,231
Excited for your impressions! Has anyone pre-ordered from Bloom? And if so, was there tracking provided?
Received this from Bloom Audio earlier today. For those who haven't taken advantage of the pre-order special, their website is still offering it until they receive this shipment.
 

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Nov 24, 2021 at 8:52 PM Post #281 of 2,231
Nov 25, 2021 at 12:08 AM Post #282 of 2,231
I found a much easier way to control the volume knob in the menus. I used to release my fingers and press down on the knob with just my thumb, and that would cause the knob to sometimes move and select the wrong option. Now I keep my thumb, index and middle finger still holding the volume knob around the grip areas and simply press downward while maintaining the same grip (no fingers are released). The control is so much better. Have not missed a selection since.

Burson should release a video on how to properly use the volume control knob, as it is something that some users do have issues with.
 
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Nov 25, 2021 at 12:22 AM Post #283 of 2,231
I found a much easier way to control the volume knob in the menus. I used to release my fingers and press down on the knob with just my thumb, and that would cause the knob to sometimes move and select the wrong option. Now I keep my thumb, index and middle finger still holding the volume knob around the grip areas and simply press downward while maintaining the same grip (no fingers are released). The control is so much better. Have not missed a selection since.

Burson should release a video on how to properly use the volume control knob, as it is something that some users do have issues with.
All this for a $2500 USD product.
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 12:36 AM Post #285 of 2,231
I think the GT does sound good but the problem is that other products exist in the world and sure if you have no experience with other high-end amps then yeah this is amazing but compared to my personal daily driver the HPA4 the sound quality is just not up to that level but more importantly the user experience with the HPA4 is leagues better than 99% of amps on the market today. I am just comparing to my experience. My daily headphones are the Hifiman 1000SE so in my personal use case I find issues.

You mention ur Arya on high gain. Yes the headphones sound great at high gain but you have hardly any play with the volume at low levels. Even at "1" volume the amp is still providing decent volume. On my HPA4 it pretty much has the same 100 step volume except the way the volume control is designed is you have sooo much control on exactly how much volume you want. Its just plain better. Again I am just comparing to my own experience. I look for products that just pretty much nail the basics and everything is well thought out. The thing is Burson could do better but at $2500 I already expect them to have basic stuff like this figured out because there are other products that have it figured out. The fact they aren't using a stepped actuator for the volume control is monkey level of decision making IMO. Hell if you only have $2000, the Headamp GS Mini with the stepped actuator for volume control is probably the best value in Hifi under $2k. I am extremely critical of products that sell for this kind of money because for most people its a lot and you better have everything damn near perfect. I FEEL none of us should have to sit here and debate what you don't like about the product's design because again, at this price, it should be a none issue because other products on the market exist that do it perfectly. I know this is probably a unpopular opinion on this forum but I wanted to just share my opinion <3
I'm using the GT set at high gain at 80 volume with the V2 Arya. I have complete control of the volume levels. At "1" volume it is very low and barely audible to me. I have also just tested it at low and medium gain and I again have complete control of the volume. At low gain I cannot hear anything at volume 1. My experience is so different to yours, that is why it made me question your impressions on the Arya-GT combo.
 

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